Reuben c



R. C. MIGHELL.

Gate.

Patented Sept". 8, 1868.

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Letters Patent No. 82,021, dated September 8,1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN GATES.

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TO ALL WHO-M IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, REUBEN G. MIGHELL, of Plano, in the county of Kendall, and State of Illinois, ha.ve invented a new and useful Improvement in Gates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 shows the gate and one length of fence in perspective.

Figure 2 shows a side view of same, with the gate open.

Parts lettered as follows i A, gate; B, fence; 0, lever, D, hinge; E, weight; F, pivot; G, roller; H, fulcrum; V, spring I, top rail; K, bottom rail; L, studs; M, centre stud; N, sill; 0, wires; P, Q, R, S,'T, and U, posts.

I construct my gate as follows:

I make a frame, as shown at A, consisting of the top rail 1, bottom rail K, and studs L L, shown in the drawings, securing them together by mortise and tenon, or any other suitable means.. The length of the studs L L must be suiiicient to give the gate the-necessary height, and the length of the rails I and K sufiicient to extend across whatever passage the gate is intended to close; the rails and studs being of sufficient size to t give the strength required, in proportion to the size of the gate. Across this frame I place and secure the centre stud, M. i

The opening between the rails I and K and the studs L L is sufliicicntly closed by wires, as shown at 0,

extending lengthwise of the gate, and secured firmly to the studs L L. The wires, on being secured to the studs L L, are drawn as tight, merely, as is convenient, with the hands, after which, as a convenient method of straining them, they are, one at a time, pressed down in the centre until they have the proper tension, and held in that position by securing, by means of staples or otherwise, to the centre stud M. When thus strained, it will be seen that the wires 0 do notextend parallel with the rails I and K, but are depressed in the centre, which, by their tension, causes an upward strain upon the centre stud M, preventing the gate from sagging in the centre, and also renders it much more rigid, and less liable to be forced out of proper shape, by being poised upon one corner, in opening, as hereafter described, than if they extended on a line parallel with the rails I and K. By the use of wires, the gate also presents less surface to the action of the wind than if boards or slats of wood were used.

The part marked B represents an ordinary post-and-board fence, P, Q, and B being the posts'of the same, a. passage being left between the posts P and Q, which is closed by the gate A. I now erect, beside, .the posts P, Q, and R, three other posts, shown at S, T, and U, which form three pairs of posts, as shown at fig. 1; the posts S, T, and U, standing just far enough from the posts P, Q, and R, to allow the rails I and K of the gate to pass freely between them. I now place one end of the gate A between the posts P and S, and the other end between the posts Q and T, where it is secured by passing an iron pin or bolt through a hole in the posts Q and T, and also through the end of the lower rail K, forming a pivot, as shown at F. i

The part marked N represents a sill into which the posts are set, but in practical use the sill may be dis pensed with, and the posts inserted into the ground as for ordinary gates. The pivot F supports one end of the gate, and the other end is supported by a bearing, not shown, the same height from the ground between the posts P and S. I l

I now construct a lever shownat G, of the same size and length as the top rail I, which I place as shown in fig. 1, with one end between the posts R and U, and the other end against the end of the top rail I of the gate A, at which place these two parts are hinged together by an iron hinge upontheir upper side, as shown at D, the hinge being better shown in fig. 2. v

The ends of the top rail I and the lever 0 being in contact, the hinge D is of suificient strength to support the lever O nearly or quite upon a line with the top rail I. Upon the top of the lever C, about midway between its ends, I place a weight, as shown at E, which weight is of sulficient heft to nearly counterbalance the gate 1 upon the pivot F, the gate being only enough the heaviest toprevent the liability of its beingopened by the action of the weight without other assistance.

I now construct a roller and place it between the posts R and U,,and near the sill.N, as shown at G, and secure it, by a bolt throughits centre, to one or both of the posts. I now insert into the sill N, or into the ground, when the sill is dispensed with, a. short post or stake, shown at H, which Iwill call a fulcrum, placing it directly beneath the lever O, and between the pivot F and the rollers G, but much nearer the roller G, say about one-fifth part of the whole distance between the pivot and the roller, from the roller G, the top of the stake being not quite as high as the top of the roller G. Into the top of this stake I set a piece of rubber belting, or some other material'of about the same flexibility, shown at V, which I will call a spring, it being about one-fourth of an inch in thickness, six inches high, and as wide as the under side of the lever C, for a full-" sized gate. 7

The operation of my improved gate is as follows: To open the gate,'the operator places one hand beneath the top rail I, near the end from the lever C, or takes hold of the stud L at the same end of the gate between the wires, and presses gently upwards, when the gate being balanced by the weight E upon the lever C, that end of the gate rises, as indicated by red lines in fig. 2, and the force is increased to impart a slight impetus to the gate, which causes it to continue turning upon the-pivot F until it assumes the position indicated by black lines in fig. 2, standing perpendicular upon one end, one corner supported by the pivot F, and the other by the hinge D, which connedts it with the lever C, the end of the lever C resting upon the sill N.

The gate is prevented from being thrown over sidewise, by accident or by the force of the wind, by the bottomrail K standing between the posts Q and T.

To close the gate, the operator takes hold of the bottom rail K above the top of the posts Q and T, and a gentle pressure upon that rail in the direction o f the posts P and S causes the gate to turn upon the pivot F, and resume the position shown in fig. 1.

,To make its several features better understood, I will descri'be its operation more minutely. When the power is applied, and as the gate rises, the lever C falls, one end passing down between the posts R and U until it rests upon the roller G, as shown by red lines in fig. 2. Thus far its action is the same as'if the top fail I and the lever C were in one continuous piece, but hereits progress would be stopped, but being in two pieces, connected by the hinge D at this point, the hinge commences to operate, allowing the gate to continue turning upon the pivot F, sliding the lever C over the roller G, until the gate attains its equilibrium upon the pivot F, when it is desirable to diminish the momentumof the gate, that it may not be stopped with too great a concussion. To accomplish this, at this point the under-side of the lever G comes in contact with the spring V, which being directly beneath the weightE, partially supports it, and renders its influence less upon the gate. The friction of the spring upon the lever also tends to retard the sliding of the lever, and thus retard the gate. Now, as the gate advances, and the hinged end of the lever C descends still farther, the lever comes in contact with the fulcrum'H, which strikes it at a point between the weight and the gate, and the slightest farther ,descent of that end raises the lever from off the roller G, when the influence of the weight E is exerted upon the gate in an opposite direction, tending to counteract the momentum of the gate, and when the hinged end of the lever 0 comes in contact with the sill N, the concussion in stopping is so slight as not to endanger in the least degree the safety of the gate.

The gate, as represented in the drawings, is of the proportions suitable for the passage of teams and vehicles, but the principle is equally adaptable to narrow gates, intended only for foot-passengers or two narrow gates may be used, opening in opposite directions for the passage of teams.

In farm-gates it is often desirable to open a gate but partially, to allow the passage of only small animalshogs, sheep, &c. For this purpose my gate is especially convenient, as the gate can be raised, as shown by red lines in fig. 2, to the height desired, and there secured by any convenient means to the posts P and S.

I am aware that gates have been used which were constructed in such a manner that the slats composing the frame would close or fold together, that have been operated upon a pivot at one lower corner. This manner of hanging for such gates I disclaim.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The lever C, constructed and operating substantially as described.

2. The spring V, in combination with the fulcrum H, for the purposes specified.

3. The combination of the gate A, lever C, hinge D, weight E, roller G, and pivot F, all constructed and operating substantially as described.

REUBEN C. MIGHELL.

Witnesses:-

A. N. BEEBE, A. STEWARD. 

